1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disposable garment and a method of manufacturing such a disposable garment, and more particularly, to a disposable garment exhibiting a noodle cuff which acts as a leakage control shield, and a method of making such a noodle cuff disposable garment.
2. Description of the Related Technology
A number of disposable garments having a contoured shape have been proposed in the past for use on infants and incontinent adults. The contoured garment generally provides a more comfortable fit than traditional rectangular garments. However, in most cases, such contoured garments are quite expensive to produce due to the use of complex high-precision machinery needed to form the intricate shapes. Many such garments are formed from rectangular absorbent articles, often cut in assembly-line fashion from moving webs. To form a garment from a rectangular piece of absorbent material, material is often cut away from the longitudinal edges of the absorbent article and discarded during formation of the leg holes. Such leg-hole cut-outs are known as "noodles." While the contoured garments generally provide a more comfortable fit, they are prone to leakage along the edges of the contoured region.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a disposable garment that is contoured for a comfortable fit and is constructed to prevent leakage. There is also a need for a method of making a disposable garment wherein waste from discarded material used in the process of making the garment is minimized or eliminated.